BackgroundPuerto Cabezas is the capital of the North Caribbean Autonomous Region (RACN) of Nicaragua, which is a region made up of indigenous lands. Unemployment and poverty are widespread, and most local families make a living by sifting through garbage in search of recyclables and leftover food. There is extreme poverty, and most children are malnourished and lack access to safe water. The children’s feeding center was built in 2009 to provide nearly 700 children aged one to twelve with at least one substantial meal five days a week. The food is supplied by the organization Stop Hunger Now, based out of Raleigh, North Carolina. ​​​The NeedAlthough the feeding center is extremely beneficial to the community, there was limited access to water for the kitchen. Each meal had to be prepared with water supplied through a nearby hand dug hole in the ground, where the kitchen staff used small buckets to retrieve water. This created huge delays in cooking the meals, and often led to making smaller portions for the children. Similarly, the assessment trip in December of 2014 revealed that the feeding center had a collapsed septic tank, resulting in improper disposal of wastewater. Prior to EfID’s involvement, wastewater would seep across the ground to the nearest ditch, over a field where children could often be seen playing.

EfID ResponseIn August of 2013, five students and one professional advisor travelled to the community of Sabana Grande for Phase I of the project. The goal of Phase I was to provide a water supply and distribution system for the community. In order to meet this need, EfID dug a new well with the help of local contractors that was 200 ft deep and would be powered through solar panels. The students and their advisors designed three photovoltaic panels that provided 800 watts to the well pump. A solar powered pump system was chosen to address the community’s concerns; the residents of Sabana Grande would be unable to generate the income required to pay the electricity bill, so it was in their interest to have a self-reliant system. When tested, it was found that the well could deliver 140 gal/min of water for over an hour, whereas the typical well in Nicaragua will only deliver at 30 gal/min. In addition to the well and pump, EfID students, alongside community members, laid 1,500 linear feet of PVC pipeline, installed a pressure tank, pressure gauges, six water stations, and a security fence around the new well.

In May of 2014, ten students and two professional advisors traveled back to Sabana Grande to implement Phase II of the project. This phase had two goals. The first was to provide water access 24 hours a day, and the second was to install water stations for each household in the community. The travel group split into two teams to address these challenges. The tank team focused on providing continuous water access to the community, which was currently limited by the solar powered pump that could only function during sunny daylight hours. EfID’s solution was to build an elevated storage tank that had the necessary pressure head for distributing water to the highest household in the community. The team accomplished this through purchasing a 10,000 L tank, and building it on an 8 ft high CMU block tank base designed by EfID students and their advisors. The distribution team concentrated on expanding the pipe network built in Phase I to include all households in the community, as well as the local school. This team laid an additional two miles of piping and installed 30 new water stations.​Project ConclusionBeginning with the assessment trip in January of 2013, EfID worked closely with the Sabana Grande community to determine what exactly they wanted and how we could help them meet their needs. The residents expressed great interest in the new water system, and were active participants in community meetings. These meetings were held from the beginning to educate residents on the system, and to form a community water committee that is technically skilled with the installation, maintenance, and repair of their water system. The development of this water committee will allow for the successful operation of the water supply and distribution system in the future and ensure that all members of the community have access to safe water.